586th Flight Test Squadron
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The 586th Flight Test Squadron is a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
unit, stationed at
Holloman Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, and a census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. Th ...
, New Mexico. The
squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
's first predecessor is the 586th Bombardment Squadron, a
Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
unit that was organized and trained in the United States during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It flew combat missions in the
European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
, where it earned a
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...
and a French Croix de Guerre with Palm. After
V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
, it served with the
occupation forces Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...
in Germany until returning to the United States and inactivating at
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
,
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
on 31 March 1946. Its second predecessor is the 6586th Test Squadron, which was organized in December 1982 to perform flight testing with a number of electronic systems. In 1992, the two squadrons were consolidated as the 586th Test Squadron.


Mission

The squadron "plans, analyzes, coordinates and conducts
flight test Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...
s of advanced weapons and avionics systems primarily on the
White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...
. It provides deployable operational support for test aircraft perating from
Holloman Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, and a census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. Th ...
. The squadron flight tests guidance systems, laser systems, air-to-air and air-to-ground systems, long-range and
standoff weapon Standoff weapons are missiles or bombs which may be launched from a distance sufficient to allow attacking personnel to evade the effect of the weapon or defensive fire from the target area. Typically, they are used against land- and sea-based tar ...
s, live
warhead A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: * Explosiv ...
s, and provides target and photo/safety chase. It operates three highly modified Northrop AT-38B Talon and one Beechcraft C-12J Huron aircraft."


History


World War II


Training in the United States

The squadron's first predecessor, the 586th Bombardment Squadron, was activated at
MacDill Field MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...
, Florida as one of the original four squadrons of the 394th Bombardment Group.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 281-282 It began to train with the
Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
, performing most of its training at
Kellogg Field Kellogg may refer to: People and organizations *Kellogg's, American multinational food-manufacturing company **Will Keith Kellogg, founder of the company **John Harvey Kellogg, his brother, inventor of cornflakes and medical practitioner * Kello ...
, Michigan. It departed for the
European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
(ETO) in mid-February 1944.


Combat in Europe

The squadron was established at
RAF Boreham Royal Air Force Boreham or more simply RAF Boreham is a former Royal Air Force station in Essex, England. The airfield was always known locally as : "Boreham Airfield". The airfield is located approximately north-northeast of Chelmsford; abo ...
, which was to be its station until after
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
, in mid March, and flew its first combat mission on 23 March, less than two weeks after its arrival in the ETO. It helped prepare for the
invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
by participating in
Operation Crossbow ''Crossbow'' was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German V-weapons, long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme. The main V-weapons were the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket – these were launched aga ...
, striking
V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
and
V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed ...
launch sites. It also carried out attacks on
marshalling yard A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ya ...
s, bridges, gun emplacements and
airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
s. Not all targets were near the intended invasion landing areas. For example, in April, the squadron participated in a heavy attack on the marshalling yard at Mechlen, Belgium. Later that month, it encountered particularly heavy
flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
in an attack on Heuringhem, in which the airplane leading the group formation received 264 holes. However, bombing results were not as accurate as desired, and the squadron was removed from operations for a week for additional training. On D-Day it attacked gun emplacements at
Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
, afterwards striking
lines of communications A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicat ...
, fuel storage sites and enemy strong points. The squadron moved to
RAF Holmsley South Royal Air Force Holmsley South or more simply RAF Holmsley South is a former Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England. The airfield is located approximately northeast of Christchurch, Dorset; about southwest of London Opened in 1942, ...
on 24 July, in a general move by the units of the 98th Bombardment Wing to bases closer to the invasion area, and on the following day supported
Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an Offensive (military), offensive launched by the United States First United States Army, First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Invasion of Norman ...
, the breakout at
Saint Lo In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
. Between 7 and 9 August, the squadron made five attacks on strongly defended targets in northern France. This operation resulted in the award of the
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...
to the squadron. Later that month, the squadron moved to its first base on the continent,
Tour-en-Bessin Airfield Tour-en-Bessin Airfield is a now-abandoned World War II military airfield near the commune of Tour-en-Bessin in the Normandy region of northern France. The United States Army Air Force established a temporary airfield on 12 July 1944, shortly ...
, in France. From this base, the 586th attacked strong points at
Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...
and later began attacking targets in Germany from its bases on the continent. During the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
, the squadron attacked lines of communications to prevent reinforcements from reaching the attacking German forces. it participated in
Operation Clarion Operation Clarion was the extensive allied campaign of Strategic bombing during World War II which attacked 200 Nazi Germany, German communication network targets to open Operation Veritable/Operation Grenade, Grenade. 3,500 bombers and nearly ...
, intended to destroy the remaining elements of the German transportation system. In addition to attacking transportation and storage facilities, toward the end of the war, the squadron dropped propaganda leaflets over occupied territory, which included the squadron's last combat mission.


Occupation and inactivation

Following
V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
, the squadron moved to Kitzingen Airfield, Germany, where it became part of the Army of Occupation. In December, it began to transition into the
Douglas A-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Col ...
. However, most personnel were rotating home for separation from the military, and in February, the squadron was transferred on paper to
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
, District of Columbia and was inactivated there at the end of March.


Test operations

The second predecessor of the squadron was activated at
Holloman Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, and a census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. Th ...
in December 1982 as the 6586th Test Squadron. It provided operational and maintenance support for all
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
(DOD) test aircraft staging out of Holloman Air Force Base from 1982 until 1990. Starting in 1991, it flew developmental test and evaluation missions and has supported DOD test flights on the White Sands Missile Range. The squadron operates three AT-38B and one C-12J aircraft. The T-38s are modified for test, test support, target, and photo and safety chase missions. They are equipped with
chaff Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
, flares,
Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
(GPS) navigation, precision data recording and
telemetry Telemetry is the in situ data collection, collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic data transmission, transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Gr ...
and
electronic countermeasure An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
s. They are equipped with an internal fighter instrumentation and navigation system which uses
inertial navigation An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (dir ...
and GPS inputs. They can simulate towed targets, threat and
cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
s. They have air combat maneuvering Instrumentation pods, and multiple format photographic capability. For specialized tests, test equipment can be mounted and installed in place of the rear ejection seat or externally in a pod. The centerline pylon can also carry operational stores. The C-12J, a modified Beech 1900C, is a low cost
testbed A testbed (also spelled test bed) is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies. The term is used across many disciplines to describe experimental rese ...
aircraft used for evaluating navigation and guidance components and systems. It also provides slow speed photo and safety chase. Its onboard time space position instrumentation provides a reference for systems under test. Electrical power is available for onboard test equipment. It can carry up to four fully powered, independent test racks with an operator for each rack. Each test rack is configurable with customer equipment. Antenna modifications include 2 controlled and 3 fixed Radiated Pattern Antennas, a C Band Beacon antenna, and a dedicated
ultra high frequency Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequency, radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one ten ...
antenna for test communication radio. It can deploy for off-station requirements. In October 1992, the two squadrons were consolidated as the 586th Test Squadron. The squadron was renamed in 1994 as a flight test unit.


Lineage

; 586th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 586th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 15 February 1943 : Activated on 5 March 1943 : Redesignated 586th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 9 October 1944 : Redesignated 586th Bombardment Squadron, Light on 3 December 1945 : Inactivated on 31 March 1946 * Consolidated with the 6586th Test Squadron on 1 October 1982 ; 586th Test Squadron * Designated as the 6586th Test Squadron on 15 December 1982 and activated * Consolidated with the 586th Bombardment Squadron and redesignated 586th Test Squadron on 1 October 1992 : Redesignated 586th Flight Test Squadron on 15 March 1994


Assignments

* 394th Bombardment Group, 5 March 1943 - 31 March 1946 * 6585th Test Group (later
46th Test Group The 46th Test Group was a United States Air Force group active from 1992 to 2012. It was last active with the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The 46th Test Group was stationed as a tenant unit at Holloman Air Force Base, New Me ...
), 15 December 1982 *
96th Test Group The 96th Test Group was a United States Air Force unit, based at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU), assigned to the 96th Test Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The Test Group's function was to ...
, 1 October 2012 * 704th Test Group, 1 December 2016 – present


Stations

* MacDill Field, Florida, 5 March 1943 *
Ardmore Army Air Field Ardmore Army Air Field, later Ardmore Air Force base was an installation of the United States Army and later Air Force. It was named after the nearby city of Ardmore, Oklahoma but was actually located closer to the town of Gene Autry, Oklahoma. I ...
, Oklahoma, 12 July 1943 * Kellogg Field, Michigan, 19 August 1943 – 15 February 1944 * RAF Boreham (AAF-161), England c. 11 March 1944 * RAF Holmsley South (AAF-455), England, 24 July 1944 * Tour-en-Bessin Airfield (A-13), France, 25 August 1944 * Orleans/Bricy Airfield (A-50), France, 18 September 1944 * Cambrai/Niergnies Airfield (A-74), France, 8 October 1944 *
Venlo Airfield Royal Air Force Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf on the Dutch-German bo ...
(Y-55), Netherlands, 2 May 1945 * AAF Station Kitzingen (R-6), Germany, September 1945 – 15 February 1946 * Bolling Field,
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, 15 February 1946 – 31 March 1946 * Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, 15 Dec 1982 – presentStation information in Robertson, except as noted.


Aircraft

* Martin B-26 Marauder, 1943-1945 * Douglas A-26 Invader, 1945-1946 * Northrop AT-38 Talon, 1991–present * Beechcraft C-12J Huron, 1997–present


Awards and campaigns


References


Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II
586 __NOTOC__ Year 586 ( DLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 586 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...
Military units and formations in New Mexico